http://www.ericsson.com/ng/thinkingahead/networked_society In the Networked Society, connectivity is the starting point for new ways of innovating, collaborating and socializing. Our study finds that the behaviors of the next generation will dramatically transform the way we experience working life as we know it.

1. Next Generation
Working Life
From Workplace to Exchange Space
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2. A Connected World
Is Just the Beginning
Mobile and digital technologies are expanding into more and more
areas of society, business and private life. This development comes with
opportunities for fundamental innovation. New forms of communication
will emerge and the arising business opportunities are endless and will
span across all societies, organizations and individuals. It will change
how businesses are organized, as well as how we organize work,
collaborate and share. We call this new emerging society – of which we
have only seen the beginning – the Networked Society.
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3. WORKING LIFE IN THE
NETWORKED SOCIETY
“
A dozen generations ago,
there was no unemployment,
largely because there were no
real jobs to speak of. Before the
industrial revolution, the thought
that you would leave your home
and go to an office or a factory
was, of course, bizarre.
What happens now is that
the industrial age is ending.”
The truths we know about working life are undergoing
some dramatic changes. This change is driven by
pow­ rful trends, such as the increased globalization,
e
which turn working life into a global arena with virtual
teams across organizations and locations. Social media
and communication services are increasingly diminishing
the borders between what used to be private and what
used to be work. Likewise, open innovation and crowd
involvement are fading the borders of businesses.
The digitalization and information flows are putting
pressure on organizations to be organized differently.
This will fundamentally change working life and the
activities we engage in. Already today, individuals are
connected to communication services, which provide
them with a constant access to the work loop. We are also
starting to see that the blurred boundaries between work
life and private life are changing our perception of work.
­
—Seth Godin, Marketing Guru and Author
On the other hand, the removal of restrictions on time
and location empowers people to learn, produce and
distribute their ideas with a global reach. As the divisions
of labor are dissolving, questions about work and values
are being raised. Working is a fundamental way for
creating and distributing value – but how will it manifest
itself 10 years from now?
Working Life in
the Networked Society
• Blurred boundaries between work life and
private life
• Increased emphasis on personal networks
• Flexible work hours and workplaces
• Virtual teamwork across organizations and
locations
• Freelance and project-based work
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4. Industrial
CAPITAL
HUMAN
CAPITAL
CREATIVE
CAPITAL
The CREATIVE CAPITAL
ECONOMY
Creativity as the Fuel for Innovation
Each historical era has had its main source of valuecreating activity. During the times of “hunting and
gathering”; this involved finding food, making fires and
creating clothes. When humankind started cultivating
soil and growing crops, the first settlements emerged.
But there was still no clear distinction between work
and other activities. The concept of “working hours”
simply didn‘t exist.
Today, organizations are beginning to understand that
creativity is the fuel that drives innovation forward. This
imposes new demands on organizations and how they
operate. In a world where industrial and human capital is
insufficient to outperform competitors, organizations
will have to seek new ways of organizing work in an
ever-changing environment in order to increase its
creative output.
The industrial era brought a shift in focus as people
abandoned farms and fields for factories. During this era,
a system for working life emerged that included everything
from special purpose workplaces to timetables, division of
labor, working days/hours and spare time.
Over time, as machines and systems became more
complex, a need for brain power emerged. Individuals
became the main asset that created value within
organizations. These organizations had to rely on
human capital to operate and develop. Key was to attract
the best people to run the organization and leadership
skills were highly valued.
How will work be organized in the
Networked Society in order to
increase creative output?
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5. Rethink
the Workplace
How to Survive the New GamE
New behaviors and emerging technologies are changing
how work is organized. People are getting more mobile
and expect greater flexibility in their work, and thus place
greater demand on their work environment. At the same
time, new technologies such as high-speed broadband,
cloud computing and big data are changing our
perception of technology and our relation to it.
This report does not aim to provide definite answers to
these questions. Instead, the ambition is to shed some
light on the underlying trends that are driving the
changes in working life, and provide insights on where
we are heading. On a more tangible level, the report aims
to highlight a number of themes that are particularly
important to understand and address in order to survive
and thrive in today’s changing landscape.
The world in which organizations operate is changing, and
they will have to rethink the workplace in order to survive
the game. It will be crucial to understand and align to
changes taking place. But what are the main challenges
that organizations need to address?
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6. 8 Working Life
Themes
Welcome to The
Exchange Space
Who are we
talking about?
We have identified eight themes that describe how
working life is changing. Successful organizations will
be the ones that adapt, and can provide a dynamic and
inspiring workplace where people can thrive and flourish.
A workplace where technology and organizational
structure empowers people to innovate, collaborate
and create their own work in a culture that encourages
experiments. But the workplace is no longer bound to
the physical world, as much of the work takes place
in the digital world. It has moved to a virtual space
where everything comes together.
We call it The Exchange Space.
It is important to understand that the themes are
not applicable to working life in general. The themes
revolve around the fraction of the working population
whose skills are coveted and who are in a position
to choose what they want to engage themselves in.
In contexts where people are willing to make
considerable sacrifices to simply land a job and
satisfy their most basic needs, the themes will
naturally be less significant or emphasized.
There are however strong indications that underline the importance of taking the themes seriously.
Motivating the most creative people to contribute to a
specific organization will be increasingly challenging
in the future. Most importantly, it will require personal
Serendipity
MANIFESTATIONS
motivation and incentives beyond financial reward.
Consumerization
The Exchange Place
Do-ocracy
CULTURES
Two-Way FlexibiliTY
Cultural Gravitation
Quest For MeAning
Values
From Tasks To MissionS
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7. 1. QUEST FOR MEANING
Defining the purpose of individual contributions
“
We don’t hire people that
can just do the job at hand. The
mission has to resonate with our
employees personally, which
is why we need to engage the
whole individual.”
The Essence
Instead of only focusing on compensation and benefits,
or the title on the business card, it is increasingly
important to contribute to society. To play a meaningful
role is crucial, and it is no longer sufficient for companies
to just give money to charity and have a corporate social
responsibility (CSR) section on their website. People seek
companies whose visions and purposes are grounded in
genuine values.
– Noom Inc., New York City
Benefits
Companies that employ “the right people”, i.e. people who
share the same values, see a greater level of commitment
and efficiency; thus, these employees are more often
better brand advocates.
Challenges
For established companies without clear ideals, it is
challenging to find and express a true story for the brand
that people really believe in. For large organizations it can
be hard to define how each individual contribution matter.
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8. 2. FROM TASKS TO MISSIONS
From time in the office to value for business
The Essence
The shift to focus on value-creation marks a major
change in working life. Both employers and employees
focus more on actual value creation and end results,
rather than on exactly where, when and by which
methods the work is done.
Benefits
This creates a much more flexible and cost efficient work
environment, and increases the motivation and sense of
freedom of the employees.
Challenges
When companies no longer regulate and measure
traditional parameters like work hours, new and more
comprehensive methods for assessing achievements
are required. Such methods are not easily developed.
The work culture is also characterized by a sense of
freedom coupled with responsibility, which can
be very demanding for those who need clear
structure and guidance.
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9. 3. CULTURAL GRAVITATION
From colleagues to communities
“
The culture of the company
really produces the DNA of the
product. If you launch a product,
of course strategy is important
and you need to plan, but the
company culture will be reflected in how other people receive
the company and who will want
to work there. Culture always
beats strategy.”
The Essence
A strong work culture that can mobilize employees is
often described as important as it can improve the
quality of everyday life for employees. People tend
to seek companies with a sense of community and
internal culture, with which they can identify.
Benefits
Management teams have a more holistic view on their staff,
and fostering a common cultural identity and sense of
community are prioritized since they are key motivators for
performance and the willingness to stay with a company.
– Alex Martini, Co-Working Space Entrepreneur
Challenges
The organizational culture needs to be defined and
reinforced, and some employees can feel distanced from
such a culture. As boundaries between “the employee”
and “the individual” become unclear, integrity issues can
more easily arise.
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10. 4. TWO-WAY FLEXIBILITY
Adapting to the era of connectivity
“
The most flexible companies will get the best talents,
and companies will raid each
other for talents. Flexibility will
be a matter of negotiation, no
one will accept a job that they
don’t think is flexible enough.”
The Essence
Flexible working hours in combination with constant
connectivity can prove difficult to deal with in a
constructive manner. It has traditionally been primarily
beneficial for employers, as it most often led to
employees working more than scheduled, but now
people are expecting flexibility on their own terms.
Benefits
– Dave Gray, Management Consultant and Author
As long as the employer respects the boundaries
between work life and private life; flexible working hours
and freedom at work will have a positive impact on
employee efficiency, goal-fulfillment and general health.
Challenges
A flexible culture requires individual dialogues with
employees, which can be more time consuming in the
short term. In order for this type of flexibility to be
successful, employees must be able to express their
needs and set boundaries for themselves.
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11. 5. Do-Ocracy
The era of the DIY mentality
“
Henry Ford and Alfred
Sloan created the ‘big company’
as we know it, and revolutionized how companies worked.
Today, it’s more like ‘I want a
girlfriend, I create Facebook’.”
The Essence
There is an emerging workplace culture characterized by a
clear spirit of entrepreneurship and DIY mentality beyond
pre-defined work tasks. People take a greater individual
responsibility for solving problems and achieving goals.
Benefits
In organizations where everyone takes individual
responsibility and work on their own initiatives to solve
problems and reach goals, operations can run more
swiftly and efficiently. Such work environments are more
stimulating and rewarding for entrepreneurial people,
and companies fostering a do-ocracy culture can be
more innovative and adaptive.
– Richard Donkin, Author
Challenges
In order to create this kind of culture, much control has
to be relinquished. But if not guided at all, employees risk
running in different directions without seeing a common
goal. A culture that relies on much freedom can also be
demanding for people who need clear structures and
much guidance.
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12. 6. The power of serendipity
Optimizing exposure to others
“
Today working life is arranged
to cater for functions that work in
predictable ways – in the future you
might have many different functions working together in a variety
of work modes for short periods
before dissolving and regrouping
in another incarnation. There is an
array of groups working in dynamic
ways together to innovate.”
The Essence
Constant exposure to other people and environments is
crucial for successful business development and adaptation to ever changing market conditions. Organizations
“plan for” random encounters between people with
different backgrounds and competences in order to
increase the opportunities for innovative ideas.
Benefits
This open-minded culture not only sparks vital ideas but
also develops people on a more personal level, as they get
to know people they would not otherwise have met.
Challenges
– Ryan Anderson, Director of Future Technology,
Herman Miller
There are concerns and risks with openness; it raises
issues about company control and confidentiality.
Introverts can also find this culture hard to thrive in.
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13. 7. the exchange place
From physical working space to meaningful exchange
“
We need to look at the
social environments where
creativity is most likely to
happen. The idea of space
will be more open-ended in
the future. This requires new
entrepreneurship and bringing
together different types of
competences – the way you
would in a theatrical production.”
The Essence
There is a shift from storing and controlling employees
in the workplace to making sure that the exchange is
meaningful and rewarding. The working environment
should primarily be designed to optimize the quality
of interpersonal exchange.
Benefits
Focusing mainly on interpersonal exchange-related
activities, rather than storage of employees, who rarely
are at their desks anyway, is a much more cost-efficient
use of space.
Challenges
– Frank Duffy, Architect and Founder of DEGW
This requires organizations to create a workplace of
meaningful exchange, as well as progressive strategies
for enabling employees to work from outside the office,
in terms of technical infrastructure. It also imposes that
organizations will have to give up some control over
employees. Such an environment can also be stressful
for introverts.
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14. 8. CONSUMERIZATION
Individual preferences shaping the work environment
“
Everyone is allowed to
choose their own equipment
here. If they want to have two
screens, then that’s what they
will get. We do anything to make
sure that they work as effectively
as possible.”
The Essence
People want their work environment to be adjusted to their
individual needs, and preferences and experiences from
the private sphere are applied at work. They are unwilling
to compromise their know-how by abiding to IT-policies
that are not advantageous.
Benefits
As people can be more comfortable with their work tools
and other elements of the work environment; efficiency,
confidence and well being at work increase.
– Noom Inc., New York City
Challenges
Since employees will have diverse needs and preferences,
implementing many different requirements can be time
consuming and costly, and organizations must understand
how much the return of these investments is, which is very
hard to calculate.
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15. Summary
In order to thrive in this new connected world, it will be important for
organizations to leverage on these themes. Working life is undergoing
dramatic changes and organizations will have to rethink how they structure
work. By creating a culture that focuses on individuals, organizations can
build a reputation of being a progressive and talent friendly company.
When individuals get the opportunity to work on meaningful tasks, they
embrace the organization, and they will also attract talent from their own
network. Organizations that quickly learn how to manage talent will not
only innovate faster than their competitors, they will also outperform them
on the bottom line.
Explore the Future
of Working Life
Join the Conversation
The shift from workplace to exchange space has already
started, and the process is irreversible. This ongoing
change is supported by a number of global trends that
are sweeping over the world, and are changing the
foundation of working life.
Ericsson has just started its journey to explore the future
of working life, and invites you to join the conversation.
Do you agree with the findings in the report, or do
you have another point of view of where working life is
heading? Whether you think the future of working life
is either bright or dull, we would like to hear from you.
Find out more about the Next Generation Working Life
at www.ericsson/working-life or simply connect with us
on Twitter, #NextGenWorkingLife, #NetworkedSociety
or Facebook.
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